Drabble: "Fortunate Son"

[veronica_rich]

Title: "Fortunate Son"
Rating: G
Summary: In response to the "Fortune" prompt at blackpearlsails, about Marty the pirate.
Disclaimer: Hardly mine. Would I be writing drabbles to pass the time if I had that kind of money?
A/N: Dedicated to the_dala, a fan who loves the little characters - literal and figurative - as much as the main ones. *G*


He didn’t remember when he stopped growing, but he was just five days shy of his tenth birthday when Da was stabbed, Mum having long earned her wings in childbirth.

Ruthlessly begging, Marty managed not to starve until he was taken in as part of a traveling con – treated worse than the caged bear, but fed and left to practice. As a knife-thrower, perhaps he could someday earn his way as a talented curiosity.

Escaping arrest at fourteen, Fortune instead let him earn the respect of the sea’s misfits and become their average citizen, rather than half a respectable freak.

Comments

[mary684.livejournal.com]

I can't believe you did all that in FOUR sentences! WOW! Mum having long earned her wings in childbirth, this line especially good, IMHO.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I've had stories that did not seem to take as long to write as this thing! LOL. Darn word counts.

I'm glad you liked it!

[delle.livejournal.com]

that's the line that leapt out at me too. Well done!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading!

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

What a great job!

I love when writers take the obscure characters and turn them into gold.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Marty is not overly used. He actually strikes me a lot like Will - quiet and determined, but perfectly willing to speak up and be aggressive when the situation warrants it. And not afraid to fight bad odds. *G*

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

You seem to know him well!

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

"Pirate" does seem an odd "profession" for one of his stature. So I suppose he became a "talented curiosity" after all. Just one with far more respect than he'd've had otherwise. (Because, other than an odd initial look from Jack and Will, no one ever questions his being there.)

An interesting choice for "fortune." Or not.

Well done. (Do you really have to keep to a specific number of words? O_0)

[metalkatt.livejournal.com]

A true drabble is 100 words precisely. It can be an interesting challenge trying to make it fit.

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

Now that you say that, I believe I have heard that before. I just didn't realize how closely that rule might be followed. (And now I know why I've never attempted one. :-p)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

What she said about the 100 words. There are people who go over or under, but I've been told those are not drabbles. Then again, it's a fandom about rule-breakers, so sticking to guidelines isn't always necessary, I suppose. I just like the challenge of doing it, because I'm used to trying to edit down to a word count from time to time at work anyway. *G*

Glad you liked it.

[mamazano.livejournal.com]

I agree. Getting that 100th word is so satisfying...

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

And now I have that much more respect for you! I would most certainly be a rule-breaker on that count. lol. (And now I'll have to start counting your words. Do you go by "word count" or can you legally skip over, erm, Marty-sized words like "a" and "I"? :-p)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Well, I used MS Word, so whatever it considers a word, which I think is every individual string of letters ...

[tiamary.livejournal.com]

You can cheat by connecting...words...this...way. (ssh!)

I also like to do the 100 words, or find some other magic number if the 100 just doesn't cut it, like 125 (drabble and a quarter) or 200 (double-drabble).

It's so great for learning to economize and cut the fat from your stories. You have to be willing to "sacrifice your babies" and only leave it what's necessary...drabbles help with that.

[tiamary.livejournal.com]

When Will does the puzzled eyebrow raise he looks just like a friend of mine who is a comedian, and I always crack up. (My friend is good looking too.)

[komandant-krech.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I really liked this. Marty is great, and even greater he found his 'place' and the respect he deserved in the world! (Hardly a surprise, in general, that I have huge sympathies for people, be them real persons or fictional characters, who don't 'fit in' ;))

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

There's a longer story in there about Marty, but I'm sure I'm too lazy to write it, like I am about most fanfic things these days. *G* Glad you liked it!

[djarum99.livejournal.com]

the respect of the sea's misfits

Loved that. These things are a bitch to write, yes? Beautiful job, and the perfect backstory for Marty.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Right now, they're easier to write than longer stories. They appeal to my essentially lazy nature, LOL.

Thanks for reading!

[mamazano.livejournal.com]

I love that you took a character long overlooked (no pun intended) and gave his a bit of backstory and dignity.

Another reason to love pirates. They are all misfits but all fit in. Inclusive bunch, and as long as you pulled your weight, your height didn't matter.

Though that look Jack and Will first give Marty IS priceless!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! I like the look that Marty gives Jack and Will that first time, myself. Sort of "And?" (It's one of those things I'll give the writers credit for - creating memorable "extras" who do more than just fill in the scenery.) And I love that neither of them seems to think it's odd that he's there.

Pirates were inclusive to a point - like "polite" society, they had their own rules and exclusions. No matter what Disney tells us, there's a reason women had to disguise themselves as men to work with pirate crews. (I've loved pirates since I was 12, but I've always realized by and large that they were just as gender-chauvinistic as your average gentleman of the period, LOL.) Which again is why I love Jack and Will - they don't find it odd that Anamaria's ready to join the crew and Will thinks nothing of her having her own ship. :-)

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

Marty! Eeee! ::bounces:: Thanks, man :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

MARTIN! Yeah, if I could've thought of one for Cotton, that would've been better. I guess YOU could write one ....

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

Great drabble! So complex, wonderfully written.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

You've been visiting these a lot lately! :-)

Thanks for reading, as always.

[ainsoph15.livejournal.com]

You know, one of the things I love most about your drabbles is how the titles are so perfect, and play an essential role in the meaning of the drabble as a whole. I really like this - the idea of piracy being an inclusive society based on merit rather than the usual means - that they are 'floating islands'. And Marty! Yay! Gotta love him!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

The titles are usually pulled from random bits of my brain - I don't have any set ideas when I start writing and it's hard for me to come up with them in most cases. So I'm happy they make sense.

the idea of piracy being an inclusive society based on merit rather than the usual means

As I told someone else, there are limitations - Anamaria was not a usual case in "real" piracy - but by and large, yes, there's more equality in a pirate crew than almost anywhere else at this point in time.

[tiamary.livejournal.com]

Cool drabble! It's interesting how long it took me to realize Marty was a "little person." He just blended in so naturally I didn't think about it.

My favorite Marty moment is when Elizabeth first approaches Jack in DMC. Um. Uh. Sorry, got all distracted by remembering that fateful moment. I get all heart-poundy. Anyway, Elizabeth says "Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow." Immediately, Marty comes running down the ramp. AFTER that, Jack says "Hide the rum!" to Gibbs. Marty is already on it, scooping up a barrel of rum and darting up the ramp with it. So...Jack must have told him the island story! Hilarious, subtle moment.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Either that, or Marty's got it figured out. All Jack would've had to do is tell the story of the rum burning with no embellishment, once, and everybody who knows Jack for ten minutes would've understood what it meant. *snerk*